A Christmas Tale
by Groundswell
Summary: James accidentally meets Lily when Christmas shopping. He follows her - against her will - and they end up in an orphanage. When a snowstorm begins, they are forced to stay until they can go outside again.
1. It’s gonna be a cold, cold Christmas

_A/N: As an aftermth of the early Christmas spirit which came to me some time in October (it always does), I've written a L/J Christmas story in three parts. The three parts will be posted through December (the first one now), and will each be named after a Christmas song which I like and matches the chapter a bit. I suggest you to hear the music while reading to get the right spirit up in you. And of course I don't own anything. Also, I've written another one. I'll post the first chapter of that one tomorrow just so you know.  
And a big thanks to Nadia, who have betaed this whole story. And now you can start reading._

1 – It's gonna be a cold, cold Christmas.

He looked up in the sky as a single snowflake landed on his nose. The just minutes before blue sky was slowly turning white and more snowflakes started to fall. He removed his gaze from the sky and he focused on the stream of hats in front of him, every one different from the one beside it. They were all hurrying past the shops or into them with enormous speed. A black pair of hats was almost running and pushing their way past him and the hats in front of him, and a little group of red and green hats were singing some muggle Christmas song. He sighed deeply and let his hand run through his black messy hair while his, normally warm, but at this point bored hazel eyes looked away from the crowd again.

"Mom, why did you and dad have to drag me along?"

Elda Potter looked up at her 17 year old son with her clear blue eyes. She pushed her thick black hair out of her face and smiled at him. "Because," she said, "we see so little of you in the every day when you're at school."

"…Oh, what fun it is to ride, in a one horse open sleigh, jingle bells, jingle bells…" the hats song.

"But why here?" James sighed. "In the other end of England and a muggle street? It makes no sense."

"When we come home, you'll be glad to have seen something new," said Mario Potter, who had just joined his wife and only son.

"Yeah. Right," James said sulking and picked up a coffee cup from a large box and studied it. "I could easily find something else to spend my 23rd of December doing but muggle shopping."

"James, stop!" his mother said sweetly but stern. "You're ruining the Christmas spirit!"

"My Christmas sprit was ruined the second I was told to spend Christmas at home," he mumbled under his breath as he let go of the cup and let his gaze wander out over the crowd of hats again.

A white hat with red reindeers walked side by side with a blue and yellow striped hat into a baby clothes shop while a red hat stopped to pick up a bag it had lost. James' gaze stopped suddenly at a small green hat with a thick string hanging down in each side. Some long red locks stuck out from the edge of the hat and the person walked considerable slower than the rest of the crowd and was time after time succeed by other hats.

"It can't be…" he mumbled with his eyes fixed on the back of the girl.

"What?" his father asked absent-minded, looking at coffee pots.

"Um, I'll be right back," James said and hurried away.

It was no problem to catch up with the girl as he was almost pushed forward by the crowd.

He stopped right behind the girl, making sure it was the person he thought it was. He nodded to himself, yes, that hair and high was not to be mistaken. He could recognise the hat too. He walked up to her left side and looked down at her.

"Hello Evans!" he said and smiled.

The girl stopped abrupt at the sound of his voice and several hats bumped into her before they started to go the other way around her. He stopped too and looked right back into the eyes of Lily Evans, the girl of his dreams. Her green shining eyes slowly grew vide of shock and her perfect formed lips slowly opened into a big hole of disbelief. Her cheeks were a bit red from the cold and her nose had a few freckles. He noticed her red fringe stuck out from the green hat too and he remembered how much he loved it.

Then he remembered that Lily did still hate him; after sax and a half year at the same school and he had still not gotten her convinced to go out with him. He didn't understand her; any girl actually wanted him, but she didn't, and funny enough she was the only girl he really wanted. He hated the fact that they were in their last year at Hogwarts, and Lily did still hate him. Why, he didn't understand, but he did understand one thing: if he wanted to show Lily what a person he was, he only had half a year left.

Right now, he just enjoyed her eyes staring back at him with disbelief.

"What – are you – doing here?" she asked stunned after almost ten second of silence.

"Shopping," he said shortly, then added with a charming smile. "What about you?"

"But you don't live here!" she said, ignoring his question and smile.

"No, I guess you do?"

Lily nodded. "Now please move. I haven't time to you." She started to walk and James followed her by her side.

"Where're you going?" he asked, still in a cheering voice.

"Nowhere where you need to come," she said shortly and turned a corner into a little street away from the crowded street and kept walking.

"Ah, don't be so mean," James grinned. "You're ruining Christmas spirit!" He reminded himself a lot about his mom in that second, but ignored it.

"Just go away," Lily said irritably.

James didn't go, but instead he looked down at the bags in Lily's hands and wandered if she had just made the last Christmas shopping like his parents. They turned another corner.

"What's in the bags?" he asked.

"Nothing."

They walked some minutes in silence as they turned a couple of corners and it became less and less crowded.

"So how has your holiday been until now?" he asked, trying to start a conversation.

"Fine," Lily answered without looking at him.

"So, what have you of planes later tonight?"

"Nothing that includes you. Can you please turn around and go away now?"

Lily stopped and so did James. She didn't look at him. He looked around and realised he had no idea where he was.

"I…I don't know the way back..."

Lily looked up at him with raised eyebrows. "I'm not following you back!"

James shrugged. "Then I have to follow you."

"Can't you just apparat home?" she asked, clearly irritated.

"I haven't my wand with me…"

Lily let out a growl of frustration and started to walk. James knew he had been permitted to go and followed her.

"Want me to carry them for you?" he asked after a couple of seconds.

Lily stopped and looked up at him with raised eyebrows. He stopped too and nodded down at the bags.

"Sure," she said.

James put his own bags into his left hand grabbed Lily's bags and they started to walk again. The bags were filled, but didn't weigh much. It began to snow even more as they turned something that seemed like the hundredth corner.

"So," James said, "where are we going?"

"You'll see," Lily said. "It'll only take an hour or so. Then I can follow you back."

"Okay…" James said and smiled.

He was going to spend an hour with Lily Evans, and she couldn't really do anything about it. They turned another corner and walked into a street which seamed very poor and ramshackle. James studied it all; it was nothing like what he had ever seen before. But of course, he lived in a big mansion with an even bigger garden out in the country in the southern England, not far from London.

"Evans, where are we?" he asked stunned.

"What?" Lily asked. "Not used to see poverty like this?"

James shook his head slowly and frowned. "No…"

"Oh…" Lily said a bit taken back, but soon found her usual self. "You're just a little spoilt boy then."

"I wouldn't say spoilt… My father's just…"

Lily cut him of by placing her hand at his chest and pushing him softly into the wall of a brown house. She looked up at him with her green eyes turned into something that looked a lot like concern.

"James, please; this is not the place to show of with all the money you have. These people we're going in to have less than nothing, and they mean everything to me. Okay?" Lily said and looked almost beseeching at him.

James wasn't sure if it was Lily's use of his first name, or the way she looked when she said it all that made him nod and agree, but he did and knew it was the only right thing to do

"Thanks," Lily said. "It means a lot to me."

James shrugged. "It's nothing."

Lily removed her hand and then did something she had ever done when she was near James; she sent him a gaze which was not full of hate and disgust, but thankfulness.

"Thanks anyways," she said.

James gave her a slight smile. They started to walk in silence and soon stopped by a house which looked only a little less ramshackle than the rest of them. Lily knocked at the door and in the same second a powerful breeze almost knocked them over and more snow fell from the sky. A few excited children's voices were heard and someone walked to the door.

"Who's there?" a woman's voice called.

"It's Lily!"

The door swung open and revealed a large woman with brown hair tied up in a high ponytail. She had a boy in around four years in her arms, but she smiled at the sight of Lily. She quickly put the boy down and gave Lily a hug.

"I was just wondering when to see you!" she said smiling and looked at James. "And you've brought someone!"

They broke away and they both looked at him.

"Theresa, this is James," Lily said.

"Hi!" said the woman and shook James' hand. "I'm Theresa, head of the orphanage."

James just smiled and nodded. He looked past the woman and saw around fifteen children who all sat at a long kitchen table with coloured papers and scissors all over it. In the same second most of the children got up from the table and ran over to Lily, all fighting to get to her.

"LILY!" they all called and some swung their arms around Lily who had gone down into squat.

"Hey everyone!" she grinned and tried to hug them all.

"Who's that?" a little girl with blonde hair asked and pointed at James.

"It's just a friend of-"

"Is he your boyfriend?" another girl asked.

"No he's-"

"For how long have you been together?"

It seamed like they didn't even listen to what Lily was saying.

"We're not-"

"Tell us Lily!"

"But he's not-"

"When are you getting married?"

"Please!" Lily grinned and made them all stop talking. "Relax. It's James, and he's not my boyfriend."

"Oh," said a black haired girl and looked up at James. "Can I have him then?"

James grinned and looked at the girl. "I'm so sorry, but my heart already belongs to someone," he said and gave Lily quick glance.

She bit her lower lip and looked at the girl, obviously not knowing what to say. Then suddenly she began to smile at the children. "You're making Christmas decorations?" she asked and looked towards the table.

"Yeah!" said a little boy and held up a red heart. "I've made this one!"

"Oh, it's beautiful, Tommy!" Lily said and looked at the heart. "Care if I join you?"

"No, come on Lily!" said the children and all grabbed her by the hands and dragged her over to the table.

They all helped her off with her coat, hat, mittens and scarf and gave her a scissor.

"Are you coming too?"

James looked down and saw a very small shy-looking girl look up at him with big brown eyes. She had brown curled hair and a sweet smile.

"Of course," he said and dropped all his and Lily's bags at the floor and after that his coat, scarf and mittens. "Where can I sit?"

"Here!" called a blonde girl and James walked over and sat down beside her.

A boy pushed a cup of warm chocolate over to him and another boy gave him a scissor. James looked up and saw Lily already cutting in some green paper and talking to Theresa and two small girls at the same time. James just smiled and shook his heard, while looking down at the paper he began to cut in.

"Oh, this is so hard!" the brown-eyed shy girl said in a giving up way.

James looked up from his paper and saw that she was making a snowman in paper, and all of her fingers had glue all over and she couldn't glue the eyes on the snowman.

"I'll help you!" James said. "Where does this need to be placed?"

The girl pointed at the snowman's face and James grinned and glued the eyes on. Then he got up and walked over to the sink where he found a napkin. He put on some water and walked back to her.

"Come here with your hands," he said and she stretched them out towards him. He grabbed her hands and helped her cleaning them.

"Thanks," she said when he was finished.

"You're welcome," James said and looked up from her.

Lily was looking and he quickly caught her eye, but she looked away the second he saw she was looking. He smiled faintly to himself.

After half an hour of cutting and gluing Lily got up and looked at James.

"Ready to go?" she asked.

James slowly got up. "Yeah…"

They walked over to the sink to wash their hands and looked out of the window and saw snow whirling around outside. Theresa came over and stood beside Lily.

"I think it's unwisely to go out in that weather," she said.

Lily looked out a few more seconds. "Yeah, but I have to get home…"

James cleared his throat and looked at Lily. "Not to say anything, but I'd be sad to go out in that weather."

Lily looked at him. "Okay, Potter, I'm going now. Decide if you want to go home or not."

"Okay, okay!" James said and began to put on his clothes.

Lily followed him and got dressed too.

"Theresa, everything's in the bags," Lily said and nodded at her shopping bags with her hand on the doorknob.

Theresa nodded. "Okay. Happy Christmas!"

"You too!" Lily said and turned to walk out of the door. "And please say hello to him, he should know I've been here."

"Yeah, I promise."

Lily looked like she had just changed her mind, and didn't want to go, but she slowly started to open the door.

"Umm, I really don't think it's very wisely to go out in that weather," James said as snow and wind almost knocked them over.

Lily looked at him. "Do you want to come home or not?" she asked.

"I want to come home-"

"Then get a move on!"

"... but I don't want to die trying," he added in a mumble as they walked out; apparently Lily didn't hear.

They walked though the snowstorm with hands over their heads to cover up.

"Who should she say hello to?" James asked curiously over the wind and snow.

"Just one who were asleep when we were there," Lily said and looked very sad.

James decided to let it go, it didn't seam like a subject Lily liked to discuss.

They walked a few minutes, but didn't get very far. The snow and wind made it very hard to even take one step. As a particular hard breeze hit them Lily was suddenly gone. It took a few seconds and steps for James to notice, but when he did he was shocked. Where could Lily have gone? Then he looked down and saw she had fallen over and lay now still on the edge of the sidewalk with closed eyes.

"Oh, no…" he mumbled and bent down to look at her. "Evans? Lily?"

Lily didn't response so he lifted her head a bit and felt something warm against his fingers. He turned Lily's head a bit and saw she had a long gaze on the left side of her head and it was bleeding.

"Lily!" he called, but she didn't show any signs of hearing him.

He looked around, searching for someone to help him, but there were no one near him. He looked her pockets through, trying to find her wand, but apparently she hadn't brought it that day.

Then he took a decision, knowing it was one of the only things he could do. He lifted up Lily and started to fight his way back to the orphanage with her in his arms, not knowing that the decision would forever change his life.


	2. Do they know it's Christmas?

**2 – Do they know it's Christmas?**

James sat on the edge of a couch back at the orphanage with a wet rag in his hands, dapping Lily's forehead. He had brought her back and Theresa had given her a big plaster over the gash and James the wet rag in his hand to dab her with. Lily had not yet woken up, and Theresa had lit a fire in the fireplace and left them alone in the little living room.

James couldn't help but think she looked beautiful, just lying there, peaceful on the couch despise the plaster on the side of her head. He put the rag back into the little bucket with water and studied her a little more. He let his fingers run very lightly all the way over her head on the plaster-free side and into her hair. In the very same second Lily blinked a couple of times and then opened her eyes. James' hand stopped at the end of her hair and he gave her a little smile.

"Hi," he said.

"Hey…" Lily said with a faint voice.

"How's the head?"

"It hurts," she answered and took the one hand up to the plaster. "What happened?"

James grabbed the rag again and wrung out the water and began to dab her head again. He was surprised to see that Lily didn't push his hand away, but just looked at him.

"Well," James said. "We were on the way back through the storm which knocked you of your legs and you hit your head on the kerbstone. I brought you back here where you got the plaster on your head – and arm for the matter of fact – and we placed you in the couch… and here we are."

"Oh…" Lily said and studied her bruised arm. "Ouch."

"Yeah, don't touch it," James said, smiling faintly "It looks almost as bad as your head."

"But my parents will be very worried but now…"

"Theresa has called them and told about the snowstorm. We'll stay here until it's over."

Lily nodded slightly. "What about your parents?"

"They'll know as soon as they get home. We have this mirror…"

"Okay," Lily said and looked out of the window before she looked at James again. "Did… did you carry me all the way back?"

"Yeah," James said and nodded.

"Wow," she sighed. "Thanks."

"Don't mention it," he said and shrugged. "It was the only thing I could do."

Lily gave him a smile and slowly pushed herself up at her. James removed the rag and threw it back into the bucket.

"What time is it?" Lily asked.

James looked out of the window; it was getting dark outside. Then he looked at his watch.

"Half past seven," he said and when Lily didn't respond he got up. "Want some hot chocolate?"

Lily looked up at him. "Sure," she said and nodded.

He walked out of the living room and over to Theresa in the kitchen; she was cocking. He told Lily had woken up and she said she'd come with a cup in five minutes and James headed back to the living room where he saw Lily was about to pull a sweater over her head and the t-shirt she was wearing. It seamed to be a bigger problem so James rushed over there.

"Here," he said and sat down next to her, "let me help you."

Lily let go of the sweater and let James help it over her head and arms.

"Thanks," she mumbled and looked up at him.

James brushed some dirt of her shoulder and then looked up, meeting her eyes. They weren't looking at him with disgust and hate as they usually did, but something else hid behind them James couldn't quite place. She looked so innocent and vulnerable, just sitting there, letting him have his hand on her neck.

On her neck! James pulled his hand back with a jerk and broke the eye contact in the same second as Theresa came into the room with two cups of chocolate. She smiled warm at them both.

"Here," she said and they took the cups. "Lily, he's awake now. He really wants to see you."

Lily smiled suddenly. "He is? Oh, of course!" she said.

Theresa walked out of the room and seconds after a little boy around seven years with dirty blonde hair and a tiered look around his eyes stormed into the room. James was strongly reminded of his friend, Remus Lupin when he saw the eyes of the boys on a closer look. He looked also tiered and outworn despise his young age.

"Lily! Lily!" he called as he flung his arms around Lily.

"Hi!" Lily said and hugged him back. "How have you been?"

"It doesn't matter. Tim said you've brought your boyfriend!"

"I didn-"

"When you get married and have children, will you then name a boy after me?"

Lily grinned. "No, Harry, I won't."

"Please?"

"Maybe. Beside that, he's not my boyfriend, just one of my friends."

The boy, Harry, looked at James with his tiered eyes. James smiled widely; Lily had just called him her friend!

"Okay, but…"

James let Lily and Harry talk for a while until Lily sat him down again and he stormed out of the room. James looked at Lily.

"Was that the boy who was asleep?" he asked.

Lily nodded. "Yeah, it's Harry. He's got lung cancer," she just said, but continued as James looked questioned at her. "It's muggle illness. If Theresa had had enough of money, he could have gotten into chemotherapy, but now it's too late and-"

Lily's voice snapped over and James placed his one hand at her shoulder. He got what she was telling.

"How long?" he asked.

"Less than a half year," she said and looked up at him with small tears in her eyes. "He doesn't even know."

"Wow," James sighed.

Lily just nodded. James thought for a moment before he pulled her into a hug. Lily didn't respond at first, but then she slowly let her arms slide around him too. He stroked her hair comforting slowly over and over again.

"You know," he said after a few minutes of hugging Lily. "Maybe we should drink our chocolate before it gets cold."

Lily pushed herself a bit away from James and nodded. "Yeah."

James grabbed both the mugs and handled Lily one. Lily gave him one of her rare, but beautiful smiles before she led the mug up to her mouth and took a sip. James took a sip too while studying Lily. They sat in silence some minutes and drank the chocolate, just looking out in the storm or at each other.

The door creaked and both of them looked over there to see Theresa enter. She smiled.

"Harry was happy to see you," she said, "and he's glad you could find time to him, even here, at Christmastime."

Lily smiled. "I'm just glad to be here."

Theresa nodded. "I've made you beds. Lily with the girls and James with the boys."

"Thank you," James said and smiled. "It's really nice of you."

"Don't think about it, dear," Theresa smiled. "You could always as a payback go up and tell the small ones a bedtime story. They're growing tiered of mine."

"Sure!" Lily grinned. "I'd love to!"

"Yeah. Me too," James said.

He got up and offered Lily a hand too. They walked after Theresa out in the kitchen and up a small staircase. They ended in a little corridor with five doors. Four of them placed across of each other and the last one in the end.

"There, James," Theresa said and pointed at the first door to her left. "And Lily the other. You know. I've laid a pair of pyjamas to you on the beds."

They all parted and James entered the boys' small dorm. There were two rows with five beds in each at the two walls, but there only sat or laid boys in seven of them. James spotted an empty and made bed in the end with a pyjama on. He walked down there with all the boys' eyes on him. He quickly changed and sat down on the bed; he noticed Harry sit in the bed next to him.

"Theresa said you'd tell us a bedtime story," he said in his innocently voice.

James grinned at him. "I'll not only tell you a story," he said as he spotted the night lamp.

"Then what?" asked another boy from the bed across his.

James looked at all the boys. "Gather around here," he said. "Then you'll see!"

"But we've been put to bed and have to stay there."

"I give you all permission. Come! Sit!"

The boys exchanged glances and slowly moved out of their beds and settled down at Harry's instead. James grabbed the lamp and placed it at his bed and turned it on.

"Okay, here it goes…" he said and moved his hands into the light. "Once upon a time there was a little bunny called Winka." He formed his one hand so in the light it looked like a bunny. "Everyone in Winka's family had very long ears, but he had very short. And all of his friends had longer ears too." he made another bunny with his other hand, making sure it had longer ears. "They all laughed at him and teased him with his ears and said, 'you're not a really bunny!' Winka was very sad about it, but couldn't make his ears grow larger. One day a dog ran over the meadow where they all lived. He spotted some bunny ears and ran after them."

All the boys looked intensely as James made a dog of his one hand and made it chase his bunny-hand around. They all roared of laughter as James made a specific funny movement. James continued his story and the boys fell silently again. He could hear steps outside in the corridor, and guessed one of the girls had just gone to the bathroom, and continued. He demonstrated through his story several other animals he could form with his hands, and made the boys laugh every time.

"…Winka saw the brightest light he had ever seen. It made him blind. Seconds past before he could see a figure form in the middle of the light," James told several minutes later and made a pause.

"What was it?"

James looked up; it was not a boy who had spoken. At the bed behind Harry's sat all the girls, looking at James' hand-formed animals with open mouth.

He spotted Lily standing behind them all in her pyjamas and arms crossed, looking at him with raised eyebrows and a slight smile on her lips.

"It was an angel," he said while looking at Lily. Then he moved his gaze to the children again. "An angel had come and told him the earth was not worth having him around. He was taken to heaven."

He folded both his hands into a figure which looked very much like a human and the children sighed and made 'aw's.

"And there he lived happily ever after." James ended the story.

The children sat back, open-mouthed and looked at the figure in the light, then a girl broke the silence.

"I think it's time to bed now."

James looked at Lily and nodded. "You heard her. Off to bed. All of you."

The girls got of the bed and started to walk out while Lily shoved them lightly in the back, sending James a last glance.

*

The next day it did still snow very much and the door had been blocked by snow by now. They were trapped at the orphanage so James found no other thing to do than help with preparations for the next day and the evening.

One thing that amazed James was the way everything that mattered at the orphanage was on another level than he was used to. As Lily so kindly had pointed out the day before, he was not used to be in an environment where money had nothing to say. He was used to get what he wanted from his parents, get the food served by Titta and Droley, their houseelves, and not even have to clean up his own room. But at the orphanage it was different. He saw the children, who already had less than nothing, help each other when they were asked for it. He helped cocking and cleaning; he even tried to change a diaper at a very little child.

"You seriously stink at that, James," Lily grinned as he saw James make a face as he couldn't do it, (and of the smell of course).

"Yeah, something here definitely stinks," James mumbled so only Lily could hear it.

She suppressed a giggle and pushed slightly to James. "Here, let me help you," she said.

James let go of the diaper and let Lily get to it. She quickly grabbed it and put it on before James could even blink.

"Like that!" she smiled. "Now take this and put it into the bucket over there."

James grabbed the used diaper and put it into the bucket, making a disgusted face.

"I think it's kind of healthy for you," Lily said and nodded slightly. "You could probably learn a lot of things here."

James grunted a response as he grabbed the little boy and held him in his arms, not really sure what he was about to do. He watched as Harry and a girl named Erica hung up mistletoe in the doorway to the living room. Harry stepped down from the stool he had been standing on and gave Erica a quick kiss.

James looked at Lily who was grinning at them.

"Aren't they only seven?" he asked.

Lily looked at him. "So?" she asked wit raised eyebrows. "They care for each other and show it with a kiss. Beside that… the children have been taught about traditions, and in this house you don't walk away from under mistletoe without kissing each other."

"Oh," James said, thinking of a way to accidentally 'bump' into Lily under that, but found that it wasn't the way he wanted his possible only or first kiss with Lily to find place.

He looked away from the mistletoe and at Lily who were observing him with raised eyebrows and a strict gaze in her eyes.

"No funny ideas!" she said.

James tried to smile. "No, no," he said quickly. "I'm not really like that."

"Good. You want me to take him?"

James looked down at the boy. "No, it's fine. I can handle him."

"You're sure?"

"Positive!" he grinned and shrugged. "I mean. I have to learn it sooner or later, right?"

Lily studied him a couple of seconds before she turned to the sink to wash her hands.

"Wow, James Potter thinking of family and responsibility. Something's wrong here!" she mumbled so low James could only just hear her.

"What's wrong about that?" James asked, a bit offended.

Lily looked up and blushed slightly. "Um, nothing…" she said slowly, showing she had not expected James to hear it. "It's just… I don't see you as a family man with children and wife, showing responsibility… you know."

James looked at Lily with eyebrow up under his fringe of surprise.

"Wow, Lily. You really don't know me then."

"I don't?"

"No, really." James said and let his eyebrow fell back. "I'm much more than the guy you see at… at school. I can be sweet, carrying and helpful. I know I'm a bit spoilt. Well, much, but I try to be good to my friends and those I care about, and really, I'm not into dating five girls a month as you might think. I'm much more to just…" he looked her into the eyes, "… one girl."

Now it was Lily's eyebrows which were high up under her fringe. They quickly fell down and a slight blush crept up from her neck. She cleared her throat.

"Maybe I should take Joss," she said faintly. "He needs his nap."

James nodded and let Lily take Joss upstairs to sleep. He watched her back as he let his hand run through his hair.

"You like her, don't you?"

James looked down and saw a blonde girl; Anna was her name, looking up at him.

"What makes you think that?" he asked.

Anna shrugged. "Just the way you look at her," she said. "So you do?"

James grinned to himself. That girl was really smart. He crossed his arms and leaned against the table.

"Yeah, I do," he said and nodded.

Anna smiled. "I understand that. Lily's really sweet."

"She is," James said and nodded.

They stood for a couple of minutes, looking into the wall with an empty gaze. At last James cleared his throat.

"We could go and light up the fire?"

Anna nodded and smiled suddenly. "Yeah. We could do that."

In the evening al the children gathered around the fireplace and each hung a brown sock at the mantelpiece. They each wore a name so they could tell the difference. Later James told the children another bedtime story which they loved just as much as the one the night before.


	3. Merry Christmas War Is Over

3 – **Happy Xmas (War Is Over)**

Christmas morning James was woken suddenly as most of the boys began to jump in his bed. James shut his eyes up at once and looked up at the boys.

"Get up!" one named Chris called.

"Now!" Harry grinned.

James slowly sat up. "Okay, okay!" he said in a hoarse voice. "I'm up now! Stop jumping."

He yawned and rubbed his face in his hands before grabbing his glasses. The boys jumped down again and let James get up so he could get dressed. Then they all pulled him downstairs where most of the girls, inclusive Lily, sat and drank hot chocolate.

"Morning!" she said with a smile, her eyes shinning.

"Morning," James yawned.

"I think," Theresa said, "that now we all are here, you can go get your socks!"

"YEAH!" most children yelled and got up.

James and Lily grinned as they all stormed into the living room and came back again seconds after with their socks in their hands. They quickly pulled up what was in it. James saw they had all received a big lollipop in different colours, some of them with stripes some of them with dots and others with faces. Then Lily got up.

"And I think it might be time for you all to have your present from me!" she said.

She found her bags from the first day and started to handle them out. The children started to unwrap Lily's presents too, and James noticed they were all hats. All different, like the lollipops. He caught Lily's eye and gave her a smile. She smiled happily back. Then she got up and helped Theresa with the breakfast. When they were finished and placed the food at the table Lily sat down next to James.

"So," she said, "what do you think of Christmas here? Not like you use to have it, I assume."

"No," James admitted blank. "It's usually just me and my parents, last year Sirius also, but now he's moved out… but we were having a magnificent breakfast made by our houseleves."

Lily looked nervous around, but no one was listening as they were all talking and having fun.

James smiled slightly and continued. "We have this 10 feet high Christmas tree which is decorated with green living and shining elves, big sparkling red hearts and golden stars. It lights whole our living room up. It's some of a sight."

"I can imagine that…"

"But to be honest…" James said and looked at Lily, "I like this just as much if not even more."

Lily smiled wide. "It really makes you rethink the value of life."

"Yeah…"

"Lily can you help me with this one?"

James looked past Lily and saw Harry stand with his hat in his hands.

"Sure," Lily said and grabbed the hat. "Like this!"

She had placed the hat at his head and tied a knot with the two strings that fell down from each side of the hat, which were green with white starts at.

"Thanks!" Harry said and smiled, and then he ran off.

James looked at Lily's smile; sure nothing was prettier in the whole world. "Where do you by the way know this place from?" he asked.

Lily looked at him. "Well, it's actually pretty simple. Theresa was on old friend of my grandmother, who often helped with the work here. She used to bring me here when I visited her when I was younger. Even when I started at Hogwarts she brought me at the summers and those Christmases I spend at home. When my grandmother died three and a half year ago, I just kept visiting. At first mostly to honour the work my grandmother did, but then I just fell in love with it all. Especially the children and the relationship they have to each other. You don't find anything like that everywhere."

James smiled. "No, but when you does, it's fantastic."

"Exactly!" Lily grinned. "Actually… I was here when Harry arrived."

James frowned slightly. "Was there anything special about it?"

Lily nodded and moved a bit closer to James so no one could hear. "Harry had never known his father and just lived with his mother. One day they were out shopping. They had bought food for dinner and were on the way home, walking over at pedestrian crossing when there were green lights. As they were in the middle, some drunk driver drove over for the red light. Harry's mother saw just in time and pushed Harry back on the sidewalk…" Lily's voice snapped.

James couldn't believe what he had just heard. "But…" he said slowly. "But what about his family? Hadn't he any family?"

Lily shook her head. "Harry's grandparents died before he even was born and none of his father's family knew he existed and his mother hadn't any siblings… he was left all alone in this world. He came here right after the 'funeral' of his mother."

"Wow…" James sighed. "I can't believe someone can have suffered that much at the age of seven only."

"It's terrible," Lily agreed.

James looked down at his hands and suddenly felt like the luckiest person on earth. Lily seemed to have red his mind because she reached for his hands and slowly took hold of them with her own.

"James…" she said in her soft voice. "Please don't think too much about it. Harry is more than fine now, and… well, it's Christmas! We should be happy!"

He looked up and met Lily's eyes. "You know what I admire about you?" he asked and Lily shook her head. "No matter how depressing things look; you always seam to find something to be happy about."

Lily smiled widely and slowly let go of his hands. "It's because it's funnier to be happy than sad."

"Yeah, that's right," James said and shrugged.

They sat for a couple of seconds and looked at the children as they ate.

"Come!" Lily said suddenly and got up. "I want to show you something."

"Umm, what?" James asked a bit unsure.

"You'll see!" Lily grinned.

She grabbed James' one hand and began to drag him upstairs. Up there she opened her one of the five doors which revealed a narrow and rickety staircase. She walked up the stairs, James right after her. He could feel how the temperature fell for every step upwards they took. At last the staircase ended and Lily led James out at something that looked like a loft with lots of chairs, tables, boxes and other of things which were very old. Lily stopped by a window and let James step up next to her.

James wasn't in doubt that they could see all over the little town through the clean snow-free air. He could see roofs and more roofs, all covered with white shining snow. Some of them were black underneath, some red and some brown. Most of them had a chimney and smoke rose from them towards the sky. Not a single person was seen outside, probably because they, just like James and Lily, were trapped from the snow.

"What do you think?" Lily asked and made James look down at her.

He smiled. "It's beautiful."

Lily nodded slightly and looked out over the roofs again. "It's things like this, that makes the everyday worth going through."

"What do you mean?"

"You know…" Lily sighed. "In times of war you have appreciate the small things in the everyday. It can be a smile or a visit from a close friend, it can be a sight like this or maybe just the fact you're not alone in the holidays. That there's always someone who cares for you."

"Woah," James said and let his hand run thought his hair. "That's some pretty deep words…"

Lily made a little laugh. "Yeah, I guess so."

"But there's nothing wrong with it," he hurried to say. "I think it sounded beautiful."

She smiled slightly to him before she looked out over the town again, obviously thinking.

"What's on your mind?" he asked after a few seconds of silence.

Lily made a little shrug with her shoulders. "I don't know…" she said silently and sighed. "It's just… I had really hoped I was going to spend my Christmas at home; with my parents and sister and the rest of my family. They were all going to stay at us this Christmas."

"Hmm…" James just said thoughtful.

Suddenly he grabbed Lily's hand and began to drag her towards the stairs.

"James, what-?" she only said.

"Just come," he interrupted gently.

He almost ran down the steep staircase with Lily behind him, and then through the little corridor and down the other bigger staircase. He stopped as they were halfway down, looking at the children who were eating and having fun. He pushed Lily up in front of him.

Anna and Erica were laughing of something Chris had said. Tommy and a girl named Birgitte just stepped away from the mistletoe and then continued the way they were going before. Harry and Tim were licking at their lollipops, smiling. Other children were eating and most of them wearing the hats Lily had given them. They were all smiling and had that fantastic glow about them al small children have around Christmas.

"How can you even miss home?" James asked into Lily's ear.

Lily smiled. "Right now I don't," she said honestly.

James smiled wide as Lily looked up at him. Her eyes were shining along with her smile. She looked simply beautiful, he thought, nothing but beautiful. She looked down at the children again, but James first removed his gaze from her several seconds later, smiling slightly.

*

James were sitting with some of the children at the little Christmas tree in the living room, not really doing anything while the children were busy playing with some old toy cars. He looked out of the window, it had begun to snow again, but this time the snowflakes fell slowly from the sky and it made the Christmas seam more perfect than it already was.

He sighed and slowly got up, heading for the kitchen in the thought of helping Theresa with the dinner. Just as he made the doorway, Lily came walking from the kitchen, not seeing him. They bumped into each other.

"Oh, sorry, Lily!" he said quickly.

"No it's okay…" Lily said and gave him a quick smile.

James stepped right to let Lily pass on his left side, when two pairs of hands pushed him back so he stood in front of Lily again. He looked down and saw Harry and Erica pushing to his legs.

"What?" he asked grinning.

They both smiled mischievous and pointed upwards. James looked up.

"Oh," he just said and looked at Lily.

She looked upwards too and slowly looked up at him instead, biting her lower lip. "Mistletoe," she said weakly.

James nodded slightly. "Yeah…"

Suddenly Lily stepped a step forwards and James noticed Tommy and Anna had pushed to Lily too so they stood now very close.

"Well, we might just get it over," she said in a funny voice.

James nodded again and slowly lowered his head down to Lily's, lightly letting his lips touch hers.

No matter what he had always imagined, it was nothing like the real thing. Lily's lips were soft and warm and made his head spin around and his legs feel week.

He would have pulled away from Lily after the light touch, but as he was about to Lily opened her mouth slightly and kissed him again and a bit deeper than first. James found no other thing to do than kiss her back, enjoying the touch of her lips against his and her hand making its way up around his neck. Slowly he became aware of his own hands had slid around her waist and was now pulling her into him.

As the seconds past he remembered the children who were watching them in these very seconds. Lily seemed to have remembered the same thing, and they broke apart.

James bit his lower lips slightly as he looked down. The four children Harry, Erica, Tommy and Anna were looking at them with big eyes and smile on their faces.

"Well…" he said after several seconds of silence. "I was actually on my way… err, out in the kitchen."

Lily nodded. "Yeah, and I was about to… umm… light the fireplace?"

"Exactly!" James said and moved so Lily could pass.

She took several seconds to start to walk and James stood back in the doorway seconds after she finally had past and tried to make his feet move.

He could not believe what had just happened. He, James Potter, had just kissed Lily Evans! Yes, it had been under mistletoe, but it had been a kiss after all! And it had been lovely. He noticed Theresa was not in the kitchen and the dinner he would have helped with, was already in the oven or at the cooker. He stood several minutes, just starring out of the window, then he nodded to himself and turned to walk back to the living room.

He stopped in the doorway as Harry, Erica, Tommy and Anna stormed out of the living room and he noticed Lily was alone in there. She sat in the couch, starring into the glowing fire with an empty gaze and a frown around her eyebrows, obviously thinking. Her legs were folded up to her chest with her arms around them.

The radio played a Christmas song, '… and since we've no place to go. Let It Snow! Let It Snow! Let It Snow!' sung a man with a deep and slow voice; James liked it.

He slowly walked over there and dumped down next to her and looked into the fire too.

"Hey…" he said after a couple of quite seconds.

"Hi…" Lily said silently so he almost couldn't hear.

"Look Lily," he said and sighed low. "You didn't have to kiss me over there."

"Yes," she said simple and stopped frowning. "I had to."

Now it was James to frown, even more than Lily did before. "What?" he asked and looked form the fire to Lily.

"Yeah, it's kind of weird," Lily said and did still stare at the fire. "Before in time I'd have given anything to not kiss you there, but as you stood there in front of me, looking down at me with that gaze you only give me… I… I wanted to."

"Err…" James just responded and stopped frowning.

Lily looked up at him. "You wanted to kiss me too, right?"

"Yeah," he said and nodded. "Of course."

She smiled slightly. "Thought so too. But the funny part of it all was that I didn't do it because of the mistletoe."

"You didn't?"

Lily shook her head. She looked up at him with her green eyes. At that moment they showed several different things. Determination with a hint of innocence and maybe a bit of nervousness and a lot of consideration. He liked her eyes that way. They looked even prettier than usual and shone in a whole other way. Maybe it was just the light from the fire place.

Suddenly he became aware of Lily was much closer than she were only seconds before. James' breath got stuck in his throat and he swallowed once. He shut his eyes in the same second as he closed the empty space between them, letting his lips connect with hers.

The kiss was even better than that under the mistletoe and made soft electricity go all the way through his body and made his pulse rise to new heights. He slowly let his hand slide up around her neck and the other around her waist. Seconds later he could feel one of Lily's hands make its way through his hair.

If someone had told him his shopping with his parents would lead to a kiss like this with Lily Evans before he had left from home, he wouldn't have believed them, but laughed at them instead. His Christmas had turned from depressing to the most fantastic in his whole life.

The End.

Leave a review! Merry Christmas!


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